Kraft Foods boosts R&D in UK

US food giant Kraft Foods has opened a research and development centre at Bournville, Birmingham, and expanded its Reading Science Centre, as a part of a £17m investment to boost innovation of its chocolate brands in the UK.

The Bournville site, which will be the company’s Global Centre of Excellence for chocolate R&D, features innovation labs, a new pilot plant and a kitchen designed to promote experimentation with new ideas.

The centre will be used to develop new products, test consumer tastes and improve technologies for chocolate brands such as Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone, Côte d’Or, Terry’s, Flake, Creme Egg, Suchard, Freia, Marabou and Lacta.

The company’s global chocolate research centre was previously located in Munich, Germany, where Kraft created products such as Milka and Toblerone.

The expansion of the Worldwide Science Centre in Reading, which tests and researches new and improved products for its markets, includes refurbishment of four research laboratories related to microbiology, physical chemistry, DNA, protein and flavour.

Minister of State for Universities and Science David Willetts said the significant investment shows the company’s commitment to maintaining a strong research and development base in the UK.

"It will help drive long-term, sustainable growth as well as supporting hundreds of high tech jobs in both Birmingham and Reading," Willetts added.

This investment comes two years after its hostile takeover of Cadbury and a few months after the company announced 200 job cuts at three Cadbury sites.

In addition, the company has also invested at its Coffee Global Center of Excellence in Banbury, which focuses on both coffee and chocolate segments, by adding new coffee processing equipment and a new cocoa plant.